“So you’re telling me that you really had no idea Seth could tap into all of us and somehow become the God Killer?” Disbelief colored Alex’s voice.
“That is what I am saying,” Apollo replied sharply.
My frustration grew, as did the ache in my arm. “Okay. Even if all the super-special gods in the world had no idea that Seth could somehow become the God Killer, that still doesn’t explain how he killed Atlas. We were told—he was told—that only the demigods with their unlocked abilities could kill them.”
Apollo’s jaw flexed. “They could entomb them.”
Whatever.
“We were not sure if the God Killer could,” Hades stated after a moment. We all turned to him. He looked particularly bored with the conversation. “God Killers did not exist when the Titans were in control. We felt it was best to not put it in that unstable cretin’s head—the possibility of him being able to take out a Titan.”
“He is not an unstable cretin.” My hands curled into fists.
Hades smirked. “That’s a matter of opinion, luv.”
I exhaled heavily. “Basically, you guys knew there was a chance Seth could become this. After all, didn’t you have Alex and Aiden watching him?”
“Well . . .” Alex trailed off.
“And you knew there was a chance he could kill a Titan, but you said nothing,” I continued. “And now I’m assuming the earthquake and the charbroiled daimons had something to do with Atlas’s death?”
“Just like with Ares’s death, there was a weakening in all of us, allowing the Titans to make their escape.” Hades’s boots clicked off the crushed tile as he walked to his horse. “With Atlas, the ripple effect was much more severe.” His large hand moved along the side of the beast. “It punched a hole straight through the earth, through Olympus and my realm. Unfortunately it damaged the fire caverns, allowing for openings here and several other places.”
My knees felt weak. “Punched a hole . . . a hole straight through Earth?”
Hades nodded. “He was Atlas, after all.”
The kitchen door opened once more and Deacon drew up short. His gray eyes widened as he spotted Apollo.
Gable bumped into him from behind. “Who’s that?”
“Nope,” Deacon said, turning right back around. “That is all kinds of nope right there.”
And Deacon pushed Gable back into the kitchen.
“Gods,” Luke muttered under his breath as he scratched his fingers through his hair.
Anger tightened Aiden’s jaw. “Okay. Did it ever occur to any of you that if you just told us that there was a possibility that Seth could become the God Killer and that he could kill a Titan, we might’ve been able to prevent him from killing a Titan?”
“And exactly how do you think you would’ve stopped the God Killer?” Herc spoke, shrugging out massive, muscular shoulders. “Even I, the Hercules, would’ve been unable to stop him. He could kill me.”
“Oh, the tragedy,” murmured Hades.
“I will probably never say this again, but Hercules is right,” Apollo admitted. “Your knowledge would’ve changed nothing.”
“That is . . .” I shook my head in wonder. “That is the absolutely stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Knowledge is everything. Knowing what he could possibly be capable of ahead of time could’ve given us a chance to stop him—could’ve given him the chance.”
Apollo said nothing, because how could he deny that? To do so would be foolish.
“This is not our fault,” Aiden said. “Like always, you all deem it necessary not to tell us everything and like always, everything goes sideways fast.”
“We tell you what you need to know when you need to know it,” Apollo snapped back.
Herc rolled his eyes. “Trust me, you’ve only had what? A few years of dealing with a need-to-know basis. I, the Hercules, have lived—”
“I am done with you.” Apollo waved his hand, and Herc just disappeared. There one second, gone the next.
My mouth dropped open as I stepped over the dais. “Did you kill him?”
Hades laughed.
“I wish,” muttered my father. “I sent him back to Olympus. I have no need of him now. We have no need of him.”
I shook my head. “We still have to find the other demigods.”
“You already know where they are, and we have bigger problems.” Apollo turned to Alex and Aiden. “We have a God Killer who is obviously AWOL—a God Killer who is a threat to all of us.”
“He’s not a threat to you.” I walked toward the crevice, steering clear of Hades, his men, and his horses. “If he was, he wouldn’t have done what he’s done.”